King's macabre gift served county for 55 years

Published: Monday, October 7, 2013 at 04:10 PM.

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Accomplishments and accolades: King was featured in a Gazette column in 2007. In it, columnist Bill Williams ran down some of King’s contributions and accolades. King responded to thousands of emergencies during his time on the Life Saving Crew. He delivered 18 babies.

His company retrieved bodies across 14 counties and delivered them to Chapel Hill for autopsy. He served 40 funeral homes, delivering 2,000 bodies a year. He later worked for nine years helping stranded motorists through the state’s Incident Management Assistance Patrol. He was named “Rescue Man of the Year” by the Life Saving Crew. He was selected as “Citizen of the Year” by the N.C. Highway Patrol and the Gaston County Police. He was given the Jefferson Award in the 1980s in “recognition for outstanding public service.”

End of an era: Since retirement, King served on the Gaston Life Saving Crew board of directors. He liked to travel with his wife, Louise, before she died eight years ago. King loved NASCAR, and he liked to go out to breakfast every morning, according to his granddaughter, Misty Dean.

Dean was raised by her grandparents. According to Dean, her granddad was still up and about until about a week ago. She said that her grandfather was one of a kind. Flip Dow knew King from childhood. King served on the Life Saving Crew alongside Dow’s father. “Red taught me a lot. I was just a kid when he got in and started with my daddy,” said Dow. “Red was one of the best.”

The funeral will be at 11 a.m. Thursday at Zion Baptist Church.

You can reach Diane Turbyfill at 704-869-1817 and twitter.com/GazetteDiane.

Rich “Red” King had a reputation and not one that most could boast. He had a nose for death, so to speak. “If somebody couldn’t find a body in the river, they’d always call Daddy. He was like a bloodhound,” King’s daughter, Patsy Dean, said.

King founded Kings Transportation, a business in which he would transport bodies for the Medical Examiner’s office. He spent more than 55 years with Gaston Life Saving Crew, taught many newbies the ropes, ran a business and raised a family. King died Sunday, just three weeks after being diagnosed with cancer.

Early start: King was born in Mecklenburg County, one of 22 children. As a child, King had an interest in emergency services. He started hanging around the Gastonia Fire Department, and got to know John Steppe, a fireman who was instrumental in helping to form the life-saving crew with Ernest Dow. King became the group’s mascot and later a devoted volunteer.

King didn’t make it past the sixth grade, forced to quit school and help support his family financially. He grew into a community-minded business man.

Unique talent: King’s business and his time on the Life Saving Crew regularly took him out to emergency scenes. That’s where Capt. Bill Melton with the Gaston County Police Department first met him. Melton was 15 and with the East Gaston Volunteer Fire Department. “We were on a search for a missing elderly woman. I was impressed with his knowledge of the topic at hand,” said Melton.

Melton remembers working search and recovery operations out on the river. If King showed up, the job would get done, Melton said. “Red had an unusual talent for body recovery, especially with drownings,” Melton said. “I have never been on a drowning when Red was on the scene and he didn’t find the body.”

Melton recalls scenes where multiple crews were dragging the river. King would saunter up and end the search, often finding the body in minutes in an area that had already been searched. Dean, King’s daughter, remembers her father getting called out of state because of his unique talent.

Accomplishments and accolades: King was featured in a Gazette column in 2007. In it, columnist Bill Williams ran down some of King’s contributions and accolades. King responded to thousands of emergencies during his time on the Life Saving Crew. He delivered 18 babies.

His company retrieved bodies across 14 counties and delivered them to Chapel Hill for autopsy. He served 40 funeral homes, delivering 2,000 bodies a year. He later worked for nine years helping stranded motorists through the state’s Incident Management Assistance Patrol. He was named “Rescue Man of the Year” by the Life Saving Crew. He was selected as “Citizen of the Year” by the N.C. Highway Patrol and the Gaston County Police. He was given the Jefferson Award in the 1980s in “recognition for outstanding public service.”

End of an era: Since retirement, King served on the Gaston Life Saving Crew board of directors. He liked to travel with his wife, Louise, before she died eight years ago. King loved NASCAR, and he liked to go out to breakfast every morning, according to his granddaughter, Misty Dean.

Dean was raised by her grandparents. According to Dean, her granddad was still up and about until about a week ago. She said that her grandfather was one of a kind. Flip Dow knew King from childhood. King served on the Life Saving Crew alongside Dow’s father. “Red taught me a lot. I was just a kid when he got in and started with my daddy,” said Dow. “Red was one of the best.”

The funeral will be at 11 a.m. Thursday at Zion Baptist Church.

You can reach Diane Turbyfill at 704-869-1817 and twitter.com/GazetteDiane.